Category Archives: tech tips

Bluetooth Keyboard Reviews: Logitech, Amazon, Anker (for iPad and Android)

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I am in the middle of evaluating three new bluetooth keyboards: Logitech Tablet Keyboard for iPad, AmazonBasics Bluetooth Keyboard, and the Anker Ultra Slim Mini Bluetooth 3.0 Wireless Keyboard. The initial review will focus on using the keyboards with an iPad. A followup review will focus on Android. Conclusions to follow shortly, but here are photos to get things started 🙂 Initial packaging: Side views: Side-by-side Compared to an oldschool keyboard Amazon.com purchase links with free shipping Logitech Tablet Keyboard for iPad, iPad

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Olympus FL-600R not working with XZ-1 [SOLVED]

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Recently I tried using a nice Olympus FL600R flash on the hotshoe of my wife’s trusty XZ-1. Things were initially a no go, the camera would not fire the flash nor were any other commands/communication registered by the flash 🙁 Thankfully I got my FL600R to work with by downloading the latest XZ-1 firmware version: (link to OLYMPUS Digital Camera Updater) Screenshots of the firmware update process NOTE: requires the XZ-1’s USB cable to be connected to your computer) 🙂

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Mastercard and Visa ban VPN providers

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MC and Visa have begun to reject payment processing for VPN services. This is very disheartening news and I do not know what legitimate justification MasterCard and Visa could have for banning payments to VPN providers. Perhaps there is some trust to this analysis: “It means that US companies are forcing non-American companies not to allow people to protest their privacy and be anonymous, and thus the NSA can spy even more. It’s just INSANE,” Sunde says. via TorrentFreak. 🙁

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Run a Java .jnlp file without installing JRE

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NOTE: these instructions are tailored toward working with an IPMI remote console JNLP application called launch.jnlp, however, the same principles will work for other .jnlp applications as well 🙂 Some of my favorite Supermicro servers use IPMI for remote server management. Using a simple web browser interface the Supermicro servers expose a wide variety of configuration options. However, if you want to view the remote console (and thereby remote control the server), you have to use Java to launch a

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Recommendation: Buy a Nook HD or Nook HD+ at $129/$149

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While B&N has recently shut down their tablet manufacturing operations, the Nook HD and Nook HD+ are still available for purchase. What makes the two tablets even more delectable are their new prices: $129 for the Nook HD and $149 for the Nook HD+. The Nook HD+ is my favorite, with a resolution of 1920×1280 but even the HD has a nice 7″ 1440×900 resolution display. When I took a look at the Nook HD+ around Christmas time it really

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uTorrent stuck at 0.0% checking

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If uTorrent gets stuck at 0.0% checking, I recommend making sure all magnet links have downloaded their appropriate metadata (filenames etc.) and then shutting down uTorrent. After shutting down uTorrent, start it back up and give it a moment. Your torrents will likely now go past the 0.0% checking stage 🙂 Here are some more links and tips if that does not work for you: uTorrent – Checked 0.0% (Page 1) / Troubleshooting https://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=111756I just updated uTorrent to uTorrent 3.1

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Acer Aspire One AO756 memory upgrade and SSD swap

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The Acer Aspire One AO756 is a nice little laptop that is available for a quite reasonable price (usually around $270 USD). As an added perk, with a few easy upgrades it can be even better! The AO756 allows for easy access to the RAM (memory) and unlike many of its brethren, it actually has two memory slots allowing for up to 16GB of memory to be installed! The hard drive is also easily accessible in case you want to

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